The Earl I Adore by Erin Knightley Read Free Book Online Page B

come with him, but they had decided long ago that the risk was too great. After all, while a man was freeto attend any event he wanted with no ulterior motives being assigned to his actions, an unmarried woman’s sole purpose could only be to find a husband.
    Rubbing a hand over the stubble at his chin, he sighed. “There is nothing wrong with a little dancing, Jules.”
    A smug grin emerged from her scowl. “My point exactly. You’ve had years of harmless fun. I don’t see how you can begrudge me the chance to do the same.”
    God’s teeth, but the woman needed a keeper. There was no telling what she was imagining when she spoke of harmless fun. She may have lost her rational sense of late, but he had no intention of letting good judgment fall by the wayside. Though he hadn’t a clue where to even begin, by Jove he planned to have a proper chaperone for her by the end of the week. “I haven’t sent you home yet, have I?” he said gruffly. “But let me be clear: If you engage in behavior that I feel is inappropriate, I’ll escort you back to Ledbury myself. Understood?”
    â€œYou do realize that I am past the age of majority, yes?”
    â€œI do. And do you realize that you’re staying in my rental, riding in my carriage, and eating my food?”
    Her bravado faded to something much more brittle. “Every day of my life.”
    Damn it all. She knew exactly how to gut him. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and looking his sister square in the eye. “We’re still a team, Jules. I’m not against you. I’m trying to do the right thing here.”
    Some inscrutable expression dashed across her face, but was gone before he could properly analyze it. “I know. But you need to realize that I’m not going against you in anything. Can’t you just trust me?”
    Trust her? What an ironic question. She was the only person in the world he
did
trust.
    â€œYes, of course,” he murmured before leaning back against the squabs again. He may trust Julia, but he sure as hell didn’t trust the men around her. The sooner he found someone to look after her, the better.

Chapter Five
    C ontrary to what one might expect, there were benefits to being relegated to the sofa for the day with an injured ankle. Yes, Sophie was missing out on an uncomfortably large portion of her allotted husband-hunting time, and yes, her poor ankle, though not broken, did hurt like the devil, but at least she had an ironclad excuse for why she couldn’t go out and face the general public today.
    Thank God.
    That being said, she was bored to death. May had already stopped by for a few hours that morning. In her typical no-nonsense way, she had acknowledged that while the incident was indeed the talk of the night, Sophie had at least succeeded in capturing the earl’s attention for much longer than originally hoped. Somehow, that point didn’t make her feel at all better about the situation.
    Since May’s departure, Sophie had received a letter from Charity, read said letter—hooray, she was coming back within the week!—and responded with a lengthy one of her own. She’d also read a collection of poems, practiced on her oboe, and endured her mother’sconstant fretting with the patience of Job. Very well, with somewhat
less
patience than Job, but certainly with enough to earn her sainthood.
    Even now, Mama paced back and forth across the room, her feet following nearly the same path as they had when she’d discovered the elopement. “Perhaps you should write him a note. Expressing your gratitude, alluding to the hope of seeing him again soon, et cetera, et cetera.”
    Sophie caught herself before rolling her eyes. “I’m not going to write him a note. I’d rather not remind him of the Incident. Best to simply start anew the next time I see him.” It was reaching to imagine that he would